Posted on: Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Surfers excel in Pipeline conditions
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Waves were in near-perfect form at the Banzai Pipeline yesterday.
So was the surfing.
On a day when high-scoring waves were the norm rather than the exception, the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters cut its field of contenders down to 24 yesterday. The entire second round and half of the third round were completed in picture-perfect waves of 6 to 10 feet.
"Just looking at the scores, you can tell how good the waves were," Hawai'i's Kalani Robb said. "I had fun just watching the other guys."
All six Hawai'i surfers in the original field of 48 remained in contention yesterday: Robb, Shane Dorian, Sunny Garcia, Andy Irons, Bruce Irons and Brian Pacheco.
Makaha's Pacheco led the charge, advancing through two heats yesterday to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. In his third-round heat, he recorded a perfect 10 for a ride through one of the famous Pipeline barrels.
"It feels like everything is just spinning around you and right when you think you're not going to make it, it spits you out," he said.
Pacheco also had a 9.0 ride in that same heat, giving him a total of 19.0 out of a possible 20. In his second-round heat, he recorded scores of 9.3 and 8.5.
Making it more impressive, Pacheco was allowed into the contest only after qualifying through a grueling trials event last week. As the lowest seed in the field, he had the top seed — new world champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i — in both his heats yesterday.
Irons also advanced to the quarterfinals (the top two surfers from each four-man heat advance to the subsequent round). His barrel rides received scores of 9.6, 9.3, 8.5 and 8.25.
"Brian's pushing me 110 percent," Irons said. "He's a childhood friend, so it was a blast out there, trading off waves."
Garcia advanced through his second-round heat, but has yet to complete his third-round heat. He is seeded in the same heat as Australia's Joel Parkinson.
Garcia won the Vans Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach on Nov. 21; Parkinson won the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach on Dec. 3. They are the top two contenders for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship, which is awarded to the best overall performer in the three North Shore contests.
"I didn't have the best waves in my heat, but I made it through, that's the main thing," Garcia said. "Now I get to be in the same heat as Joel, and I'm not going to be easy on him. I'm not giving him any breaks, put it that way."
However, Garcia is not pleased that the Pipeline Masters is running four-man heats. World Championship Tour contests around the rest of the world feature one-on-one heats.
"We surf man-on-man all year long," he said. "Then we come to Hawai'i, the birthplace of surfing, and we have to do something different because a few people in the community want to cut the (contests) short."
He was referring to City & County rules that do not allow one-on-one heats for North Shore contests. In past years, the Pipeline Masters has received a variance, allowing for one-on-one heats. However, that request was denied this year.
Robb said: "It kind of makes it less prestigious in a way. There's something to be said about beating a guy man-on-man at Pipe."
Parkinson led the Australian contingent yesterday, recording a perfect 10 in his second-round heat. Other Australian standouts included Luke Hitchings, Taj Burrow and Mick Fanning.
One more day of competition is required to determine the champions for both the Pipeline Masters and Triple Crown. For status, call 596-7873 or visit triplecrownofsurfing.com.
